Jerusalem – Authorities have arrested six current and former executives from Israel’s electric company on suspicion of accepting $20 million in bribes from German engineering firm Siemens AG, Israel’s securities regulator said Tuesday.
The Israel Securities Authority alleges Siemens and its Israeli subsidiary bribed the Israel Electric Corp. executives from 2000-2005 to win the Israeli company’s tender for a power station turbine project. It said the bribes were part of a worldwide bribery scandal in which Siemens agreed to pay more than $1.3 million in fines.
Siemens spokesman Wolfram Trost said that “as a matter of principle Siemens doesn’t comment on ongoing investigations or on speculation. ”
Last year, a former Israeli electric company director was sentenced to six years imprisonment as part of the affair.
The Israel Electric Corp. said it would cooperate with the investigation.